Thanksgiving in NYC: what to see and do

Spending Thanksgiving in NYC? While many locals leave the city to spend the holiday with family upstate and elsewhere, plenty more remain to enjoy the attractions of a city with an extended period of time off.

Here’s what you can get up to on this cherished holiday weekend…

Attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (duh)

You watched it on TV for decades … now, it’s time to take in the ginormous balloons live and in person. Not all spots along the route are great for viewing though, so it’s vital that you know where to go to see the parade beforehand.

The west side of 75th street across from Central Park (invite only seating is set up on the park side of the street), Sixth Street and the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Time Warner Center Mall are tried and true places where native New Yorkers take their visiting friends and family to see this iconic parade.

If you wish to avoid being stuck behind a throng of people though, be sure to show up no later than 7 am, lest you be disappointed with your sight lines.

Go skating at the Winter Village at Bryant Park

In America, Thanksgiving marks the unofficial start of the holiday season, so it’s possible to indulge in the activities associated with this season starting on this extended holiday weekend.

The Winter Village at Bryant Park is a well-loved venue during this time, and it sees its first big crowds of the season during this holiday stretch.

Join families, showoff athletes, and lovers in a few laps around the rink on-site, then have dinner at a food truck or at the official rink side restaurant Celsius.

Party in the Meatpacking District

While a good amount of the party people are upstate at their family homes trying to survive awkward family togetherness moments, enough stay behind to tear it up, which isn’t surprising given that they have four days off in a row (in a workaholic city like NYC, that’s no small thing).

This Thanksgiving, the Meatpacking District is set to go off in spectacular fashion, as Cielo is set to host various special guest DJ’s in an event that is guaranteed to run deep into the night.

While it might be tempting to camp out in front of a Target in suburban White Plains to get an on the ground perspective of what the consumerist frenzy known as Black Friday is like, check out the Brooklyn Holiday Bazaar instead.

You’ll get to sleep in and check out hand made goods instead of the same old stuff that breaks after six months anyways. With jewelry, art, and a DJ spinning tunes all day, it’s vastly superior experience in our opinion.